Parental Guidance
by BaronessBlixen
Summary: Post-ep for "Witch Hunt": Her parents really want to know about Emma dating... a flying monkey? Very short. One-shot.


**A/N**: Hiiiiiiiii. Just a *very* short post-ep for "Witch Hunt." David looked so heartbroken when he found out he almost missed out on another moment in his daughter's life. I just had to get some thoughts out. Comments are more than welcome.

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"So, what was that about you dating a flying monkey?" Emma stops chewing her cereal immediately. She stares at her mother and for a moment she is quite frankly lost. Henry, curios as ever, is finally asleep and Emma needs this moment. She hasn't eaten all day. She's had coffee. Lots and lots of coffee and the liquid still swirls around in her body like a little bird, keeping her alert. Her stomach protests, wanting more. But so does Mary Margaret. She wants answers and an explanation. Finally, Emma swallows. Her mother has her arms crossed and it looks strange over her huge belly. This pregnancy (which makes Emma slightly uncomfortable, but she doesn't have the time to really think about it) has switched on something in Mary Margaret. The best way to describe it, Emma thinks, is "mommy-mode".

"Do we have to talk about that now?" Emma asks and quickly loads up the spoon again. She can't talk with her mouth full.

"Yes, we do." Great, David joins them. And Emma's gotten a taste of his disapproval earlier, because of Hook's inability to keep his mouth shut.

"Guys, I think we have bigger issues." Like people disappearing. Figuring out who cast the curse. But Emma can tell that her parents don't care for either problem at the moment.

"You were going to get married." David's voice is soft and it's laced with pain. To Emma's surprise, Mary Margaret is shocked. She looks at her husband, then at her daughter. It's clear this is the first she's hearing this.

"You were going to marry a flying monkey." It's not even a question. "You were going to get married without us." And now she's just as sad as David. Emma gently pushes her half-eaten cereals away. Are her parents more concerned that she would have gotten married without them? Or that Walsh turned out to be a monster? Because she really can't tell.

"We weren't going to get married. He just proposed." It's the truth, of course, but even if it weren't, Emma wants them to stop looking at her like that. She can see it in their eyes; another missed chance, another missed moment.

"Were you going to tell us about him?"

"There really isn't anything to tell." Emma mumbles. She was so happy. For eight beautiful months she lived in what she can only describe as a bubble. Surrounded by happiness and wonderful memories, she got a taste of what she'd always hungered after. Except it had all been fake. Wrong, even. Looking at her parents now, she knows this is her home. As screwed up as it may seem, this is where she belongs. With them. She's going to let Henry live in that bubble a while longer, because he deserves it. But this is it; their home.

"How long were you two together?" David asks. He sits down next to her and Emma appreciates it. Mary Margaret is still eying her suspiciously, like there's something she's not telling them.

"Eight months." Emma admits. Her glance lands on her mother's swollen abdomen. It must have happened around the same time… she swallows hard and doesn't quite understand why.

David opens his mouth, but Emma stops him before he can utter one single word: "I didn't know he'd turn out to be… that." She cringes just thinking about it. Walsh had become an integral part of her and Henry's life. Then he'd just disappeared into thin air. Henry luckily hadn't asked too many questions. Hook had just been happy. And Emma? She has all these memories of waking up next to him. A smile on his face, a kiss on her nose. All these memories are dipped in sunshine. They shine brightly, but most of them are now overshadowed by the betrayal. Emma knows that Walsh is somehow entangled in all of this. And she can't think clearly when her parents look at her like that. It's not her fault they weren't there. It's not their fault either. It's just the way it is. They way it's always been. Just like she can't a break. Walsh had clearly demonstrated that. She doesn't want to think about him, because it reminds her of the moment he turned into a monkey. And still, if she's honest, he's probably not even the worst guy she's dated.

"Can we please talk about something else now? It doesn't really matter. Walsh no longer matters." Carefully, Emma eyes her cereal. She's still so hungry and she knows she has to eat before something crazy is going to happen. And she knows something crazy will happen. Some things never change.

"You would tell us if… you know?" Mary Margaret asked. Emma looks at her and to her own surprise blushes.

"I don't… I mean if we're in the same… realm… and we all remember who we are… I'd tell you, of course." The spoon full of cereal doesn't reach Emma's mouth, because suddenly Mary Margaret hugs her tightly. Too tightly, but Emma is defenseless. David looks at them uncertainly before he joins them. It feels like she's being crushed, but it no longer bothers her.

"You don't even care I dated a flying monkey?" Emma asks and her voice if muffled.

"They're all flying monkeys to me." David mumbles and Mary Margaret chuckles. Emma finds herself smiling, too, and almost enjoys this moment. As strange as it is. The year she'd spent in New York City is etched in her mind and those fake memories Regina planted in her have changed her. She knows these things. And like so many other things, she is not ready to acknowledge them just yet. But she can do this; she can let her parents be her parents. And pretend she's nothing more than their daughter.

At least until the next disaster strikes.

**THE END**


End file.
